29 votes

Change in US Department of Veterans Affairs rules allows discrimination based on politics or marital status

Posted by Gaywallet
Tags: politics.usa, usa, republican party, donald trump, department of veterans affairs, discrimination, marriage, policy.health, healthcare, doctors, veterans, soldiers, military, author.aaron glantz, source.the guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/16/va-doctors-refuse-treat-patients

Link information

This data is scraped automatically and may be incorrect.

Title
'Extremely disturbing and unethical': new rules allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats, unmarried veterans
Authors
Aaron Glantz
Published
Jun 16 2025
Word count
1216 words

8 comments

  1. [7]
    ShroudedScribe
    Link
    This sounds a lot like when Kim Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But if the rules that now apply to the VA were also applied to her county clerk's office, she would...

    Medical staff are still required to treat veterans regardless of race, color, religion and sex, and all veterans remain entitled to treatment. But individual workers are now free to decline to care for patients based on personal characteristics not explicitly prohibited by federal law.

    Doctors and other medical staff can also be barred from working at VA hospitals based on their marital status, political party affiliation or union activity

    This sounds a lot like when Kim Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But if the rules that now apply to the VA were also applied to her county clerk's office, she would have been allowed to do so and someone else would have to issue the marriage certificates.

    I've heard the VA is more understaffed than ever, so if one employee refuses to provide care, that patient may just be out of luck. Especially if potential staff are refused jobs for holding the same beliefs, etc.

    15 votes
    1. Gaywallet
      Link Parent
      It's worse than that, not receiving care can mean months of waiting to get care from someone else. In those months a disease state may get worse, or have other adverse outcomes. Or if they are...

      I've heard the VA is more understaffed than ever, so if one employee refuses to provide care, that patient may just be out of luck. Especially if potential staff are refused jobs for holding the same beliefs, etc.

      It's worse than that, not receiving care can mean months of waiting to get care from someone else. In those months a disease state may get worse, or have other adverse outcomes. Or if they are particularly malicious, they can "provide care" by rejecting a diagnosis or otherwise preventing someone from reaching the medical care they need while simultaneously making it more difficult to get said care - it may be outright rejected because a care provider deemed it unnecessary or they may need to restart the process of reaching a specialist or trying to get a diagnosis or medication or anything else that requires a step-wise process of gatekeeping.

      9 votes
    2. [4]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      In many ways I'm more worried about them cutting staff for these reasons. This does feel very illegal but is it a loophole of some sort?

      In many ways I'm more worried about them cutting staff for these reasons.

      This does feel very illegal but is it a loophole of some sort?

      6 votes
      1. [2]
        Raspcoffee
        Link Parent
        Judging by their actions so far, it fits with the broader theme: use hatred as a bandwagon to corrode trust in the rule of law, due process, etc. to effectively seize more control. Even if, and...

        This does feel very illegal but is it a loophole of some sort?

        Judging by their actions so far, it fits with the broader theme: use hatred as a bandwagon to corrode trust in the rule of law, due process, etc. to effectively seize more control. Even if, and sometimes especially if, it makes said system less functional.

        Provided we even get proper statistics(who knows how functional the institutes keeping track of them will be by that point...), I really fear to see a report eventually that more veterans from the US will have ended up ending their own life.

        9 votes
        1. DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          I do get that, just wasn't sure if any of that was a federally protected class or if discrimination on these grounds is only banned by rules not laws. Is it actually a loophole or are they just...

          I do get that, just wasn't sure if any of that was a federally protected class or if discrimination on these grounds is only banned by rules not laws. Is it actually a loophole or are they just defying the law.

          I know either as possible and likely, but I'm just not sure on the actual law on this one

          2 votes
    3. tanglisha
      Link Parent
      This is insane, they could refuse care due to medals someone has that indicate combat locations oror based on the patient’s disability rating. If they go after the doctors and staff, the whole...

      This is insane, they could refuse care due to medals someone has that indicate combat locations oror based on the patient’s disability rating.

      If they go after the doctors and staff, the whole thing is going to implode. The va is short on providers at the best of times because of the pay. Now healthcare workers all over the country are quitting, which is shady making things worse.